Chan rues high home prices

Ronnie Chan Chi-chung, the outgoing chairman at Hang Lung Group (0010) and Hang Lung Properties (0101), said Hong Kong must seek its way out of Sino-US tensions and the economic downturn in the past few years and reduce its dependence on the property sector.

In a Hong Kong Development Forum symposium yesterday, Chan said he couldn't foresee the US-China rivalry ending in three to five years and said Washington would try to crack down on the SAR.

But he thinks the mainland has the ability to fight back with its large market and industries. Thus, he suggests Hong Kong take advantage of China's opening up and reform when looking for new growth drivers.

Despite heading a major developer, Chan thinks high local home prices - the world's priciest market for years - are unsustainable.

In another high-level forum organized by the Chinese Manufacturers' Association of Hong Kong, former SAR chief executive Leung Chun-ying said that Hong Kong has an "absolute advantage" in the whole country where trade services are concerned, given our accumulated experience and past generations' networking.